Series: “#Adulting” — Sermon #5 “Grace And Awe”

Series: “#Adulting” — Sermon #5 “Grace And Awe”

Adulting:— the act or practice of attending to the ordinary tasks required of a responsible adult. 

2Peter 3:18 “Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

#Adulting — Grow In Grace:

1. It’s a Miracle   2. It’s Revelational. 3. It’s Responsible.  4. It’s Possible

“Christ came to set up the kingdom of God on earth and to overthrow the power of Satan.”

Tertullian — 2nd Century Church Father

A kingdom is the governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his will, his purpose and his intent, producing a citizenry of people who reflect his culture and manifest his nature and glory.

Luke 4:43 “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”

Luke 12:32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.”

A gift of His rule, ability, glory, influence – HOLY SPIRIT!

Mark 10:13-16 (NLT) “One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, ‘Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 

 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.’ Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.”

Blessed them:— (kateulogeō) to invoke a blessing, to impart fervently, intensely. (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)

This is not a cute story of Jesus shaking hands and kissing babies.

This is a transforming impartation of Kingdom life and power.

Priorities For Inheriting  The Kingdom:   1. Laugh.   2. Trust.   3. Wonder

1. Laugh Like A Child

Jude 1:24 (AMP)

“Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]”

“You don’t stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing.”

             Michael Pritchard

“The average 4-year-old laughs 300 times a day. The average 40-year-old? Only four.”

Dr. Pamela Gerloff (Psychology Today)

Isaiah 12:3    “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

Psalm 21:6 (AMP)  “For You make him to be blessed and a blessing forever; You make him exceedingly glad with the joy of Your presence.”

Martin Luther   “You have as much laughter as you have faith.” 

“The Gospel is nothing less than laughter and joy.”

2. Trust Like A Child.     —    Quit trying and start trusting!

Proverbs 3:5-6“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

1 Peter 5:7  (AMP)  “Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” 

Hebrews 13:5 (AMPC) “for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]”

3. Wonder Like A Child

Acts 20:24 “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”

Psalm 40:5 (NLT) “O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.”

Psalm 139:14-15, 17-18 “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!”  

Another day of wonder filled victory.

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

Matthew 13:54-58 “When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?’  So they were offended at Him.

But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’  Now He did not (could not) do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”  (their hostile indifference MSG)       Tragic Loss Of WONDER. 

Karl Barth was asked; what was the greatest insight he had ever gained throughout his long years of study and scholarship?   “Jesus Loves me this know.”

My favourite quote: “Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.”

We don’t earn it. We don’t merit it. We don’t build it. We are given the transforming blessing of the Kingdom as a gift of love and grace here and now!

It’s the Blessing Of God.

There’s no fine print, stipulations, condition or limitations.

As a child I come with nothing. 

I simply possess:

                    My Laugh

                    My Trust

                    My Wonder